Hot Topics:

Groton panel strategizes over Fitch's Bridge proposal

By Pierre Comtois, Correspondent

Updated:
11/27/2012 12:23:59 AM EST

GROTON -- With momentum from fall Town Meeting, the Greenway Committee moved toward their goal of replacing an unsafe Fitch's Bridge.

Aiming to have a warrant article seeking funds to pay for the work prepared in time for a special Feb. 2 Town Meeting, members met Monday night to strategize on their argument to voters, realizing their tight schedule.

Fitch's Bridge has been a dream of local planners for many years, especially those interested in creating an interconnected trail system through town.

Built and installed in the late 19th century by the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. of Connecticut, Fitch's Bridge forms an important link between Groton and West Groton.

The bridge has been closed to auto traffic since the 1960s. Recently it has been used mostly by teens who jump into the Nashua River from the bridge.

An earlier effort to find money for replacement of the bridge with the Community Preservation Committee went nowhere when it became apparent that it would be more expensive for the town to take that route than raise the funding needed independently.

With no alternative, the Greenway Committee sponsored an article at fall town meeting seeking to raise funds to pay for a plan to remove the existing bridge and a design for a new one.

The measure passed with residents and the firm of Fay, Spofford & Thorndike were hired.

With advice from FST to hold a public hearing as soon as possible, committee members scheduled one for Dec.

Advertisement

18, after a meeting with selectmen Dec. 3 to discuss a warrant article covering removal and replacement of Fitch's Bridge.

Board of Selectmen member Jack Petropoulos cautioned the committee to make sure they would be prepared to defend their request at Town Meeting.

Petropoulos' opinion carried some weight due to his chairmanship of the Center Fire Station Building Committee and its successful passage of related articles at the spring and fall Town Meetings.

As for the combined cost of removal and replacement of the bridge, a final amount has not yet been determined but committee members expected to have something from its consultants by the middle of December.

Plans call for removal of the existing bridge and its replacement by a new, truss-style, 10-foot-wide span intended for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The Greenway Committee plans to mount a whirlwind community-outreach campaign over the coming weeks to make sure voters are informed at Town Meeting.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.